Pa. residents told to prep as super storm looms

BLOOMSBURG — Gov. Tom Corbett urged Pennsylvanians on Friday to prepare for a potentially dangerous super storm that could pound the entire state with a combination of damaging winds, rain and snow.

His comments echoed requests by state emergency management officials for residents to have three days of supplies at home — including batteries, water and food — in case of widespread power outages.

In Philadelphia, the mayor told residents of flood-prone neighborhoods to make plans to stay with family or friends and to be packed and ready to leave by Sunday afternoon. Rain is predicted to begin falling in the city Sunday evening, he said, with the heaviest downpours starting Monday night.

“Do not wait until Monday to try to figure out what to do,” Nutter said.

Federal forecasters said Friday that a brewing monster weather system involving Hurricane Sandy is expected to pummel the East Coast harder than Hurricane Irene, which last year left hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians without power and eventually led to historic flooding.

Sandy is expected to merge with a wintry front to create a mess that some have dubbed “Frankenstorm.” The entire Eastern region will be hit with hundreds of miles of steady, strong and damaging winds and rain for several days, according to forecasters.

“We are doing everything we can,” Corbett said Friday. “We are gearing up and getting ready to go.”

The governor spoke after touring an automotive carpeting plant in Bloomsburg, a central Pennsylvania town devastated by historic flooding spawned by Irene and the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

Bloomsburg resident Douglas Jumper, whose first floor took on nearly 5 feet of water during the catastrophic flood, was tying down his patio furniture on Friday and moving items in his wood shop to higher ground. He choked up as he described the long, slow recovery from last year’s flood — and contemplated the possibility of yet more storm damage.

“I’m tired. I am tired,” Jumper, who turns 58 on Saturday, said through tears. “We don’t need this again.”

Across the street, Patrick and Heather Peters pulled into the driveway after a fruitless, multi-store search for a generator. Their consolation prizes: a kerosene heater, 12 gallons of water, paper plates, batteries, flashlights and the last lantern on Wal-Mart’s shelf. They’ve also rented a U-Haul for Sunday and plan to move as much stuff from their home as possible and head to his mother’s house if the forecast is bad enough.

“I’m not screwing around this time,” Heather Peters said.

Philadelphia officials said the city could see record coastal flooding along the Delaware and lower Schuylkill rivers. In central Pennsylvania, there were warnings that 3 to 6 inches of rain could cause flooding along tributaries of the Susquehanna River.

In Union County, where parts of Lewisburg flooded last year, emergency management coordinator Michelle Sanders noted the growing season is over — meaning there’s less vegetation to soak up moisture.

“There might be more runoff, so a potential of flooding is there,” she said. She said predicted winds of up to 50 mph also could stress trees that haven’t shed their leaves.

Local officials throughout the state urged residents to clear leaves from neighborhood storm drains. In some places, including Allentown, Halloween parades scheduled for the weekend were canceled.

Officials in Columbia County, where Bloomsburg is the county seat, are worried that polling places may be flooded or inaccessible due to road damage. Experts are mapping potentially vulnerable polling places and coming up with a list of alternate locations, said county Commissioner Chris Young.

“It’s early, but we’re taking the necessary steps,” he said of overall storm preparation.

Alvin Henderson, the acting chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services, which includes Pittsburgh and 130 surrounding municipalities, said the biggest question is not knowing what to prepare for. The storm’s track remains uncertain.